Apparatus for handling and racking pipes

Abstract

An apparatus for handling pipes in a derrick and racking the pipes on a pipe racking assembly mounted on the derrick is provided to improve the stability of transferring pipes during a round trip operation.

1. A pipe stand racking system comprising:
 a racking board having a pair of opposed facing arrays of pipe stand supporting fingers mounted in a first frame, wherein said opposed facing arrays of pipe stand supporting fingers define an open corridor therebetween, and wherein said corridor extends from a derrick-side opening in said first frame to an opposite back-wall of said first frame opposite said derrick-side opening, and wherein said first frame is substantially horizontal when mounted to an open side of a derrick mast so as to register said corridor in cooperative alignment with the open side of the derrick mast, and wherein said first frame includes fasteners to mount a derrick-side of said first frame to the open side of the derrick mast into said cooperative alignment, 
 an overhead second frame mounted to said first frame so as to extend over said first frame when said first frame is mounted to the derrick mast, an arm mounted to said second frame and depending downwardly from said second frame to a lower distal end of said arm positioned over said corridor, 
 a cantilevered member mounted to said back wall of said first frame and extending therefrom cantilevered in a plane containing said corridor to a terminal end of said cantilevered member substantially coinciding with said lower distal end of said arm, 
 a selectively controllable rotation drive mounted to said terminal end of said cantilevered member and said lower distal end of said arm, 
 a parallelogram arm having a base end and an opposite pipe stand gripping end, said parallelogram arm mounted at said base end to said rotation drive for selectively positionable rotation of said parallelogram arm about an axis of rotation of said rotation drive, said parallelogram arm selectively actuable between a retracted position adjacent said axis of rotation and an extended position, 
 a pipe stand gripper mounted at said pipe stand gripping end, 
 wherein said parallelogram arm maintains a pipe stand gripped in said gripper substantially vertical when said first frame is mounted to the derrick and the pipe stand is translated by said parallelogram arm between said extended and retracted positions, 
 and wherein, when said first frame is mounted to the derrick mast, in said extended position said parallelogram arm has a reach sufficient to position said gripper at well center when said rotation drive is in a first rotational position, and wherein when said rotation drive is in a second rotational position said reach of said parallelogram arm is sufficient to place a pipe stand held in said gripper into a rear-most finger space between said back wall of said first frame and an adjacent finger of corresponding said array of pipe stand supporting fingers, 
 and wherein, when said parallelogram arm is in said retracted position, said gripper is rotatable by rotation of said parallelogram arm by said rotation drive along an arc having a retracted radius corresponding to rotation of said gripper and said parallelogram arm, and wherein said retracted radius allows rotation of said gripper about said axis of rotation within said corridor without interference with the ends of said fingers in said opposed facing arrays of pipe supporting fingers closest to said corridor 
 whereby said gripper and said parallelogram arm are extendible between said retracted and extended positions when said rotation drive is in said first rotational position, and 
 whereby said gripper and said parallelogram arm are rotatable by said rotation drive between said first and second rotational positions when said parallelogram arm is in said retracted position, 
 wherein spacing between said cantilevered member and said terminal ends of said fingers define at least one corridor space for passing there-along an end of a pipe stand held in said gripper, 
 whereby the weight of each pipe stand that is moved from well center to said racking board is transferred to front legs of the mast via said overhead second frame mounted above said racking board, and through said racking board to the derrick mast so as to support the weight of the pipe stand from above whereby each full pipe stand is lifted for positioning, 
 wherein said second frame includes an inverted u-shaped frame member and said rod depends vertically downwards from said vertex position centered along said u-shaped frame member to support said rotation drive at least vertically, 
 wherein said rod is parallel to said axis of rotation of said rotation drive. 
 
     
     
       2. The system of  claim 1  further comprising a controller cooperating with said rotation drive and said parallelogram arm to control the position of said gripper, wherein said controller controls said position of said gripper along optimized constrained and unconstrained paths,
 wherealong said constrained path said gripper, while carrying a pipe stand, follows a first linear path along a finger space adjacent a selected finger of said arrays of fingers, and follows a second linear path along said at least one corridor space, on a side of said corridor between corresponding said terminal ends of said fingers corresponding to said finger space and said cantilevered member, around said arc defined by said retracted radius, and from adjacent said rotation drive to a well-center position in the derrick when un-racking a pipe stand from said racking board, and visca-versa when racking a pipe stand from well-center to said racking board, 
 wherealong said unconstrained path said gripper, which unconstrained path said gripper follows only when not carrying a pipe stand, follows an arcuate optimized path from said selected finger space to a ready position set back from the well center awaiting a next pipe stand running in or out of the well, upon the arrival of which said gripper translates into a well center position closely adjacent the pipe stand, 
 wherein accelerations and decelerations of said gripper and the pipe stand being carried along said constrained path are optimized to minimize pipe stand instability, to smooth motion of the pipe stand along said constrained path, and to minimize probability of impact of a pipe stand held by said gripper with said racking board during translation along said constrained path, and wherein rotational and extension motions are coordinated together to create straight line movement of said gripper and a pipe stand held therein along said first and second linear paths. 
 
     
     
       3. The system of  claim 2  wherein said gripper includes a selectively vertically movable portion selectively vertically movable relative to said parallelogram arm, a gripping head mounted on said vertically movable portion wherein a pipe stand gripped in said gripping head is selectively vertically translatable independently of movement of said parallelogram arm. 
     
     
       4. The system of  claim 3  wherein said vertically movable portion includes a selectively actuable telescopic portion for vertical telescopic translation of said gripping head. 
     
     
       5. The system of  claim 3  further comprising a controller cooperating with said rotation drive and said parallelogram arm for positioning said gripper along said constrained and unconstrained paths, said controller adapted to catalogue a quantity and store position of each pipe stand stored in said racking board so as to position a subsequently retrieved pipe stand in an unoccupied storage position adjacent occupied storage positions and so as to retrieve next available pipe stands from occupied storage positions without interference with other pipe stands stored in said racking board. 
     
     
       6. The system of  claim 5  wherein said controller cooperates with said vertically movable portion to elevate or lower a pipe stand held in said gripping head at well center prior to or subsequent to translation of said gripping head along said constrained path respectively. 
     
     
       7. The system of  claim 2  wherein said second frame extends substantially orthogonally from said first frame. 
     
     
       8. The system of  claim 7  wherein said rod is a rigid substantially linear member depending downwardly from a vertex position of said second frame substantially centered over said first frame. 
     
     
       9. The system of  claim 2  further comprising a tension member mounted at a lower end thereof to a rear side of said first frame, and wherein an upper end of said tension member is mountable to an upper position of the derrick mast above where said racking board is mounted to the derrick mast, said tension member to support said rear side of said first frame and reduce a moment loading on said fasteners of said first frame where mounted to said derrick mast on a front side of said racking board. 
     
     
       10. The system of  claim 9  wherein said tension member includes a pair of tension members spaced apart on opposite ends of said rear side of said first frame. 
     
     
       11. The system of  claim 10  wherein said tension members are linear and wherein said fasteners are mounting brackets which include reinforcing plates mounted to the derrick mast, and which also include opposed facing leg portions of a front wall of said first frame opposite said back wall, wherein said opposed facing leg portions are mounted to said reinforcing plates so as to abut said leg portions against said reinforcing plates. 
     
     
       12. The system of  claim 2  wherein said gripper is a single gripping head gripping the pipe stand at only a single location along its length.